


Sending Cards to Mrs Claus

by jisoomes



Series: Hayffie Christmas 2020 [4]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, I suppose Haymitch is a bit of a soft dad figure, Prim and Katniss are younger than canon :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28216236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jisoomes/pseuds/jisoomes
Summary: Based on the prompt: I was buying Christmas cards for friends at your store and when I was paying, you told me you never receive any cards, now I’m on the quest of finding out your address and sending you one because you deserve it.
Relationships: Haymitch Abernathy/Effie Trinket
Series: Hayffie Christmas 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063949
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Hayffie Christmas Stories





	Sending Cards to Mrs Claus

“What the fuck have you roped me into?” Haymitch cursed when he spotted a price sticker. 

Prim bat her eyelashes a little, looking up at him with big blue eyes... “I want to buy the prettiest cards, this is the best store in town.” 

“Most expensive too, seems like,” he grumbled without much heat. Really, he should’ve protested more at paying such an extortionate price for folded paper but he couldn’t deny her when she used those eyes. 

Katniss would kill him if she found out he’d let her have this. Even after moving in, she was still adjusting to not being the caregiver. Prim had not asked for much though, and he had more than enough money to spend on Christmas cards. 

The girl bit her lip. “Should we go somewhere else, you think?” 

“Nah,” he argued. “Go crazy for all I care, I’m gonna find something real sparkly to piss off Chaff too.” 

He loved the joyful smile Prim shot him before she dragged him to where she wanted to go. So youthful and free. He could remember smiling like that once too. He was just glad the nine-year-old still had it in her to smile like that... 

All in all, Prim didn’t take long to pick her cards. A multipack for her school friends, a special sister one for Katniss and one for her mother too. He found a pink sparkly one for Chaff that played a carol every time it opened. 

There wasn’t much of a line at the counter despite it being peak season. Probably because most of the town couldn’t afford to shop here. 

“Happy Holidays!” The cashier chimed to the customer in front of them. She directed her huge smile over at them next. Her eyes briefly glazed over him but stuck right on Prim. “Hello, lovely lady! What wonderful cards have you found today?” 

Haymitch rolled his eyes at the patronising tone, surprised that Prim fell for it hook, line and sinker. The girl was beaming from ear to ear at the woman - who had gone for a Mrs Claus outfit clearly. The blonde woman was about his age it seemed, and he couldn't deny the fur-lined short skirt was flattering. 

It was a shame the desk blocked her off at the thigh… 

Prim prattled on about what each card was for as she scanned them. He watched a little curiously as the cashier's smile turned a little more genuine. Obviously endeared by the girl's speech. 

She had blue eyes like Prim and he found himself endlessly fascinated by them. At the way she conducted herself so prim and proper and slightly false... 

“What about you?” Prim asked frantically as she was presented the bag. “What cards do you want to get?” 

The woman’s genuine smile dimmed a little. “Oh, I'm too old for getting cards these days...” It was quickly replaced with a plastic grin. “Have a happy holiday, my dear! I hope your friends love the cards. You as well, sir.” 

He didn’t ignore her, but he didn’t acknowledge it either. Too busy holding his hand out for Prim to give him the bag... 

“Come on, little duck,” he said, urging her to the exit. “Time to go home.” 

She lagged behind a little bit, her eyes wide and begging. “Can we send her a card? Please? It is _so_ sad that she doesn't get one.” 

Haymitch wanted to protest but faced with those eyes, he felt his resolve crumbling. And well, the woman at the counter had been very nice. And her genuine smile was very pretty… 

“You don't even know her name!” Katniss complained later on, after being informed of the plan. “Or her address. The cards were expensive, you should save them for your friends…” 

Prim pouted and complained but her sister was set on that plan. By the end of the night, it seemed like the girl had forgotten. 

He didn't though. The cashier's sad smile haunted his thoughts that night. And the next evening when they were writing out their cards, she was still in his head. 

The half-assed C on the card in front of him stared back at him, impatiently waiting for the rest of the name. He hesitated, briefly wondering if he had gone insane. Then he added a small Mrs in front of it. Continued the C to say instead of Chaff… 

“Have you got a secret girlfriend we don't know about?” Katniss snorted over his shoulder later that evening. His card was top of the pile for the ones he had to post tomorrow… 

He scoffed. “It's for the cashier.” 

“So ridiculous,” the teenager said. “I can't believe you're indulging her with that one.” 

She didn't complain as she did earlier, he noticed. And he had a feeling the complaining had been more for him to know they were grateful and less about what Prim wanted to do with her cards. 

Katniss had been doing that since they moved it. Been extra careful about spending his money or redecorating their rooms. He could honestly say he didn't care about what they did. He had not been under the impression that taking two young girls in his care would be cheap. 

“She was nice,” he argued, not quite sure why he was arguing. “She seemed sad.” 

Katniss rolled her eyes. “Careful old man, you're getting into the habit of adopting strays.” She shot him a careful smile at the joke. “I'm off to bed…” 

“See you in the morning,” he replied. Hiding his own smile until he heard her reach the top step of the stairs... 

The next day, he stopped off to post the letters first thing. Intending to drop the cashier’s card off at the store but when he arrived, there was a redhead on the counter dressed in reindeer antlers. 

Haymitch had too much dignity to go in there and act like a creep so he kept it stashed in his inside pocket. 

“Did you deliver to Mrs Claus?” Katniss asked later that night. 

Prim perked up. “Mrs Claus?” 

“The lady at the till,” he explained quickly. “Stopped off there but she wasn't in.” 

He didn't get much of a chance the next day either. And before he knew it, Christmas Eve was looming and Prim was getting worried. 

“What if she's sad _right now?_ ” The girl insisted as she helped him dry the dishes. “Because she thinks she hasn't gotten any cards…” 

“I'll try and get to the store tomorrow,” he promised. “Now get to bed, little duck. Mrs Claus is probably perfectly fine and tucked up in her cosy bed.” 

She batted her eyelashes once again, internally he rolled his eyes at his weakness. “Tomorrow? You promise?” 

He wasn't in the habit of breaking promises to the girls. So the moment he nodded that night, his plans were sealed. 

In the hope that the woman would be in first thing in the morning, he checked just after opening. Dismayed to see the same redhead. 

He stopped off to get a cheap coffee from one of the coffee shops and tried again. 

Still no luck… 

By the early afternoon, he got bored of waiting and decided he’d just bite the bullet. 

The redhead had been replaced by a different blonde woman in red and white and a man with ridiculous pointy ears and a striped hat… Thankfully, there was no line of people to laugh at him. 

“Can we help you?” the woman frowned when he placed the card on the counter. 

Silently, he cursed Prim for turning him into this. Before her, he had spent his Christmas drinking peacefully at home instead of humiliating himself for a woman who worked in a card shop… 

“There's someone who works here, dresses like Mrs Claus?” He waited for a spark of recognition in their eyes, something… “She was in last Friday?” 

Finally, the two perked up. 

“My kid wanted to give her a card.” He shoved the card further on the counter. 

The workers exchanged a look. 

“How sweet,” the woman remarked. “Do you have a name we can give her?” 

“Prim,” he answered, watching them carefully… 

The woman gave him a friendly smile. “And _yours?_ ” 

He froze. “It’ll all be on the card.” 

“You should leave your number too,” she insisted, the friendliness giving way to amusement. “So she can thank you.” 

“Careful, darling,” the man chuckled. “You're scaring the poor stranger.” 

Briefly, Haymitch wondered what the fuck he had stumbled into. “I think I’m going to leave now.” 

“Maybe you could give her the card yourself,” the woman suggested. “She’ll be in later today.” 

“Portia,” the elf snapped. “You are going too far now.” 

Portia, he supposed, had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry, Effie doesn’t get a lot of admirers.” 

He tried the name on the blonde Mrs Claus and found it fitting. It suited her somehow… 

His fingers clenched a little on the counter. “I’ll come back later,” he told them after a moment’s hesitation. 

Portia grinned. “Lovely to meet you!” 

He heard the elf admonishing her as he left. 

When he got back into his truck, he threw the card on the passenger seat. What the fuck had Prim got him to walk into? Some kind of crazy land full of grown adults dressed in ridiculous outfits and taking amusement in his awkward explanation. 

He didn’t have to go back, he thought. He could just put the card in the bin and lie to the kid. She probably wouldn’t know better. 

But then he thought about how upset she would be if she found out. And how fucking expensive the glitter monstrosity was to waste… 

He drove home before he could bash his head into the steering wheel out of sheer frustration. 

They hadn’t specified a time for later, so he picked the girls up and made up the excuse of going to visit Chaff. They believed him, of course, they did. He was always popping out to visit his friend. He didn’t like doing it though, it always felt like he was leaving Katniss to care for her sister just like her mother did… 

The girl would be angry if she knew he thought like that though. So he swallowed his feelings and drove out to the town centre again. 

Inexplicably, he felt the urge to drink. A feeling that was a rarity those days. Just what he fucking needed to top the day off, he thought bitterly, more cravings. He had been doing so well since looking after the girls… 

Despite it being peak season, it wasn’t that busy. Then again, it was right before closing time, so perhaps that was why. The card store stood out from the rest of its surroundings. All blinding lights and sparkling cards. 

And a gorgeous blonde stood bored at the counter. 

The cravings stopped the minute he saw her, replaced by a nervous flutter. _Get a hold of yourself_ , he chided. You’re not some fucking teenager about to talk to his first girl. You’re giving a cashier a card… 

“Oh! Hello again!” She called when he walked in. The store was empty. And it felt a lot smaller than it had before. “Did you forget something? We are just about to close.” 

Haymitch didn’t respond right away, he took the card out of his pocket and placed it on the counter first. 

“Prim wanted to give you a card,” he said awkwardly. “Promised I’d give it to you…” 

Her face lit up in genuine delight when she picked it up. Spreading so big it wrinkled her eyes when she read the name. “Oh, she is adorable…” 

“Came by to drop it earlier but the candy cane lady and the elf were weird.” He didn’t know why he was explaining, why he was even bothering to stay. He should’ve just left her to it. 

Nobody should smile like that over folded card though… And he felt a little bad for her to seem so lonely in the holidays… 

She stopped opening the card to glance up at him, a little anxious. “Ignore whatever Cinna and Portia said, they think they are funny but they are _not_.” 

He heard unmistakable movement at the back of the store. A half-choked laugh. 

The glittery card was pulled out with a pretty gasp. And he watched the cashier open it almost immediately. 

“Give me a moment,” she said, clearly touched. “I will write her a card too.” 

He watched, amused when she abandoned the counter to rush towards the back of the store. She had nice legs - he could confirm now that nothing was blocking the view. She had a nice smile as well, and eyes. And she seemed kind too… 

_Fuck_ , he was really developing a thing for collecting strays… 

She came back with a ridiculous smile and a card with a cute reindeer on the front. “Do you think she will like this one?” 

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “She loves animals.” He watched carefully as she wrote the card- she had nice handwriting too. He bit his tongue to not say something creepy like inviting her to their big Christmas dinner or the New Years Party. 

What did it matter to him whether a grown adult spent the holidays cardless, most likely alone? 

Well, she _was_ a pretty grown adult with a smile he could’ve powered his house with for a week. These girls were turning him into a big softie... 

“Here you go!” She announced, reaching to give him the card. “Tell her to have a wonderful Christmas, won’t you? And that Mrs Claus thinks she will be on the nice list this year.” 

He chuckled. “Will do, sweetheart.” 

“My name is Effie,” she informed him. There was clear hesitation in her voice before she spoke next. “It’s polite for you to introduce yourself too, you know. But since you signed your name on the card as well, I guess I should tell you there’s something on the card for you too.” 

He studied the envelope, flipped it around and smirked when he spotted the digits on the back… “Real classy.” 

Effie flushed, her smile dimmed a little. “I’m sorry if that was forward of me, I wasn’t sure if you were married, there was no ring…” 

Haymitch didn’t even bother to hold back the laugh. “Not married, sweetheart.” 

“Then...” the cashier trailed, her eyes turning a little dark. And no longer did he think she was just pretty, but hot too... “You should give Mrs Claus a call too, just to be sure you’re on the nice list too.” 

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head to lose the silly smile he could feel tugging at his lips… 

“We’ll see, _Effie_.” 

Prim was ecstatic when he got home. And he suffered all the teasing from Katniss when she spotted the back with a reminder of her dark eyes from earlier… 

It was safe to say, he _did_ drop her a text. Just to tell her the girl loved it.

At least, that was what he told himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it was all for Prim. The texting was definitely for Prim's benefit. How much do we believe him?  
> And... Say it with me, everybody! This is why I shouldn't write other characters xD. What was this, you may ask? I have no idea. This whole universe ran off on its own. I hope you enjoyed the silliness though!  
> Tell me your thoughts! Did you like it? Do I need to never touch a younger Katniss and Prim ever again? Were Cinna and Portia eavesdropping that conversation pretending not to laugh at their poor friend making a mess of asking him out?


End file.
